


Teal

by StarPopsy



Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-16 15:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14813790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarPopsy/pseuds/StarPopsy
Summary: At the turn of your 13th birthday, when you are old enough to understand the concept of a soulmate, you will find a mark, which is significant to your soulmates personality, somewhere on your body. It will be the first place that your soulmate will touch you. This mark will change colour when your soulmate is feeling a strong set of emotions. When they are angry, your mark will turn bright red. If they are experiencing sadness it will turn blue. Love makes it turn pink and so on. This starts from when your mark appears to when you get touched by them. Your mark will then turn a colour that you both love.





	Teal

**Author's Note:**

> There is mention of bullying and physical violence

At the turn of your 13th birthday, when you are old enough to understand the concept of a soulmate, you will find a mark, which is significant to your soulmates personality, somewhere on your body. It will be the first place that your soulmate will touch you. This mark will change colour when your soulmate is feeling a strong set of emotions. When they are angry, your mark will turn bright red. If they are experiencing sadness it will turn blue. Love makes it turn pink and so on. This starts from when your mark appears to when you get touched by them. Your mark will then turn a colour that you both love.

Simon's mark was of a book on his wrist. It wasn't massive like some of his classmates were. Martin Addison had his mark on his right cheek (Simon hoped it was because his soulmate would slap him when they first met), but Simon's was no bigger than the top part of his thumb. Simon had learnt to ignore it after staring at it constantly for the first few months of it appearing. But everything changed when Simon got outed. His mark turned red and Simon could feel it burning his skin. Simon turned his wrist slightly and watched his mark for the first time in months. It stayed red for about 2 minutes, before it went to green for happiness, the green was so bright that Simon could tell his soulmate was extremely happy about something. Then it went to yellow. Yellow can mean different things depending on the shade. A pale yellow can mean confusion. A bright yellow means embarrassment. The darker yellow shade, which colour Simon's mark was, meant fear. It then went to blue and then back to yellow. Simon was trying to figure out why his soulmate had gone through so many different emotions in less than 10 minutes. What could make someone so angry, then happy then scared and sad? All within 10 minutes. The thought that they may of seen that stupid post that Martin had put up had crossed his mind more than once. He was desperately trying to avoid thinking this though because that would mean that he had already met his soulmate and that was something that he didn't even want to think about. 

For the next few weeks, Simon kept a closer eye on his mark. It mainly stayed dark yellow, sometimes it would go blue. There were times it would go pink immediately followed by green before it would settle back on the dark yellow that Simon had become used to it. His first day back at school after he got outed Simon knew that the mark his soulmate would be the same dark yellow that Simon's mark was. At lunch, Simon had been talking to Leah about his love for Oreos when Leah noticed that Simon's mark was pink. She brought it up to the rest of their friends. Abby looked so excited as she tried to tell Simon that he knew them. Nick was looking around the lunch room trying to figure it out who it could be. Garrett was looking between Simon and Bram and Bram was confused. Simon didn't notice Bram's expression because if he had of he would of been able to realise who it was, because as Bram was watching the scene unfold he saw Simon's mark change to a pale yellow. As it dawned on Bram that Simon was his soulmate, Bram watched Simon's mark change to grey. Leah pointed out that grey represented shock and Bram did everything he could to not show any emotion on his face. Lunch continued as normal with no more talk about Simon's mark but that didn't stop Simon noticing that his mark had changed to green. This put Simon in a good mood. 

Everything in Simon's life seemed to be going okay. He had his family around him and although things had been slightly awkward when he had first came out he now had their support. His friends were always there if he needed anything all he would have to do is send a text and they were there. He was getting good grades and although he didn't have a boyfriend and would sometimes feel slightly lonely (Bram's mark would turn purple when this happened and it hadn't slipped Simon's attention that every once in a while his mark would turn purple) everything in his life was good. Except one thing. He was being harassed by some guys off of the football team who would think it was funny to tease Simon. 

Simon was late coming to lunch as he had been held up talking to Ms Albright about the play. To avoid the football team Simon would make every effort to make sure that he was in the hustle and bustle of students. They didn't tend to bother Simon as much if he was around people. But today was different. Simon was making his way to the lunch room when he found his way blocked by a few of the football team. Simon took a deep breathe and carried on walking forward. He had barely took 2 steps when he was pushed up against the lockers. As he was being punched and kicked and being called all sorts of homophobic slurs all Simon was thinking about was the fact that his soulmate's mark would be dark yellow and transitioning to a burnt orange colour, which meant he was in pain. 

Simon didn't know what happened next. Simon didn't know that while he was being beaten black and blue. Bram had been eating his lunch when he felt the most intense pain on his forefinger. He gasped out loud when he saw that his mark was turning orange. The others were watching him curiously as he started asking questions about where Simon was. Bram had figured out that Simon was his soulmate, so he knew something bad must of happened. Abby told Bram that Simon had been talking about the play with Ms Albright before lunch. Bram quickly showed them his mark, that was orange and in the shape of a music note. He basically told them Simon was his soulmate and bolted for the door. Garrett was right behind Bram, he knew that Bram was going to need a friend. Abby and Leah followed, immediately realising that Simon was in trouble. It took Nick a bit longer but when he figured it out he was there with his friends looking for Simon. 

They rounded a corner and at the end of the corridor they could see Simon on the floor viciously being beaten up by some football players. Bram stared in shock watching what was happening to Simon. He froze, fearing the worst because Simon was slumped against the locker. It wasn't until he saw Garrett and Nick scramble past him that anger took over. He charged over to them and pulled one of them off Simon and pinned him against the locker. Garrett and Bram had done the same and Bram was about to punch the guy when he heard Ms Albright. Leah had managed to find Ms Albright while Abby had gone to Simon to check him. He was unconscious. Bram still had one of the football players pinned to the lockers and it was only when he felt Leah's hand on his arm that he released him. 

The next few days were the hardest of Bram's life. Simon had been taken to the hospital where he had been diagnosed with a concussion and broken ribs. Simon was on bed rest so no one had been allowed to see him. Bram was sure he was slowly going crazy. He was barely eating, he hadn't showered properly since the day it happened, instead he chose to stand in the shower and let the water wash away the tears that would fall and he had barely slept. Nick and Garrett had helped him as much as they could. They took him home the day it happened and had sat with him while he tried to stammer out to his mom what had happened in school. Nick had to take over as Bram had broken down into tears and couldn't talk. His mom was understanding, she didn't say a word about his soulmate being a boy she just wrapped him up in her arms. Garrett stayed with Bram as often as he could. 

It had been 5 days and Garrett was sitting with Bram in his room. Bram was listening to music and staring into space, Garrett was playing a game on his phone while shooting glances at his best friend. Nick, Leah and Abby walked through Bram's bedroom door. This caught Bram's attention and he turned the music off. Abby went over to Bram and wrapped her arms around him. Both Bram and Garrett listened carefully as Nick explained that he had phoned Simon's mum who had given them all permission to visit Simon as long as they promised not to be too loud as he still had a mild concussion. Bram smiled, it was the first time he had smiled in 5 days. He grabbed a towel and some clean clothes and ran to the shower, after telling the others not to move a muscle. 

After Bram was freshly showered and wearing clean clothes, he went back to his room. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips when he saw that Garrett had took his last sentence to them literally. Bram pushed Garrett off the chair and they all made their way to Nick's car. On the way to Simon's they stopped off at the store to stock up on Oreos and Reece's for Simon. On the way out of the store Bram noticed a small card. It was teal in colour and in white letters in the middle it said Courage. He paid for it and wrote on the back of it.

_Simon,_  
For when I'm not next to you  
Know that I'm thinking of you  
For when things are tough  
Know that I'm there to help you through  
For when the fear is overwhelming,  
Know that courage will always beat it.  
I love you, I have from the moment my eyes met yours  
Bram __

Nick pulled up to Simon's house and a silence fell over everyone as they made their way up to Simon's front door. Nick knocked and as Simon's mom opened the door, Bram looked down to his forefinger to see it was gold. Bram smiled, gold meant that he was excited for something. Simon's mom reminded them about his concussion and then left them to go in the kitchen. Leah took the lead and made her way up the stairs towards Simon's room. She pushed the door open and they all filed through it. Everybody noticed his cut lip and his black swollen eye. But they didn't say anything and Simon was grateful for that. Abby and Leah went over and cuddled Simon, and were apologetic when they realised he had winced in pain. Nick and Garrett gave him a fist bump which was there usual way of greeting each other. Bram smiled at Simon and Simon managed to smile back. They sat around Simon's bed and gave him their gifts of Oreos and Reece's while talking aimlessly. Simon admitted that he couldn't remember what had happened at school, all he remembered was talking about the play to Ms Albright, so the other's filled him in but they never mentioned how they knew he was there. Simon went on to tell them that they had been expelled from school and that police had got involved and they had been arrested. The subject had been changed to the play but Bram could tell Simon was confused about something and he didn't even have to look at his mark, the expression on his face showed it. "how did you find me" Simon asked. 

Bram knew it was time to tell him. Bram could see Garrett looking at him, so Bram nodded. Garrett whispered something in Nick's ear. Nick then dragged Leah, Abby and Garrett downstairs in the least inconspicuous way which meant that Simon knew that something was going on. Bram went and sat on the end of the bed. They locked eyes. Bram took a deep breathe. He told Simon that he had worked out that he was his soulmate after Leah had noticed Simon's mark turn pink at lunch when Bram had been thinking about how much he loved the way Simon would talk so enthusiastically about Oreos. He explained how he was confused and shocked but happy, but he hadn't been ready to tell Simon. He then explained how he had felt the pain and watched how his mark change from dark yellow to orange, how he gave the briefest of explanations to their friends and that he knew Simon was in trouble. 

Simon looked flabbergasted. Simon tried to speak multiple times, but struggled to get the words out. Bram held his forefinger for Simon to see as he told him that there was only one way to find out. Bram lightly pressed his forefinger to Simon's right wrist. They both knew it was truth. The both experienced a feeling that they couldn't put into words. It was like warmth had spread from where they were touching to every inch of their bodies. They felt a strong sense of love and contentment. It was also a strange feeling but they felt at home with each other. It was true about what they said about soulmates slotting together even if they didn't know each other amazingly well. Bram moved his finger away and reached into his jeans pocket to get out the card that he got for Simon. 

Simon read the card and began crying. They weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. Simon thanked Bram and gently asked him to come closer. When Bram was sitting close enough, Simon carefully reached up and pulled Bram so that Bram was close enough that Simon could press his lips to Bram's. Bram kissed back and it was gentle and tender. It was perfect. When they broke apart they looked at their marks. Simon's book had turned teal and Bram's music note had turned teal. Teal was perfect for them. Bram had not known the significance of the colour when he chose the card.

Their friend's were happy for them. And when Simon returned to school he had made sure that the card Bram had given stayed close to him at all times. The words stuck with Simon throughout everything. Simon carried it everywhere with him. And even though. a horrible event brought them together it gave them both the strength to be courageous and be themselves no matter what happened. They were lucky throughout the rest of their lives, they never had to deal with anything worse than a few homophobic slurs which they would ignore, because they had the support of their friends and family and when they finally got married after college Bram used the words that he wrote on the back of that card as his vows to Simon. Courage was something their children were as they got older. 

That little Teal courage card still stayed everywhere with Simon even after they were married, and one night when they were reminiscing Simon told Bram how everybody needed a bit of courage to be themselves and how nobody should be ashamed of who they are.


End file.
